April 2000 - A very wet start

Introduction

Please see the related articles for further information on weather events in April 2000

A Very Wet Start

After a dry March (when England and Wales received 52 per cent of its normal rainfall) the UK had a record-breaking wet April.

Dry March - England and Wales received 52 per cent of its normal rainfall

Figure 01 - Dry March

Heavy rainfall during the first 12 days of Aprilproduced a reversal of the traditional pattern, with significantly more rain falling in the east than the west.

Heavy rainfall during the first 12 days of April

Rainfall 01-Apr-00 to 12-Apr-00 (mm)

Rainfall amounts over western Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales were not too far from average. In contrast, eastern Scotland and much of England received two to three times the normal amount for the period.

Rainfall Percent of Period Normal -1-Apr-00 to 12-Apr-00 [percent]

Figure 2

Large parts of England and some parts of Scotland received well over (in some areas 50% over) the average rainfall amount for the whole of April

Rainfall Percent of Monthly Normal 01-Apr-00 to 12-Apr-00 [percent]

Figure 3

At Heathrow, comparable quantities of rain in April have occurred on only four other occasions during the last 50 years, the most recent being in 1993.